(#430) Romans 12 - Make it a Habit to Pray For Your Enemies
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church that makes a difference worldwide courtesy of the internet…Barah Ministries…a Christian Church that makes a difference locally in the Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler, AZ communities. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. At Barah Ministries, our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we teach the Word of God from God’s perspective…not from man’s perspective.
One of the greatest examples of the value and the necessity of teaching the Word of God from God’s perspective can be found when considering the epistle of James. James is the half brother of the Lord Jesus Christ…Mary is his mother and Joseph is his father (not the Holy Spirit). James was “Action Jackson.” His whole message to believers in Christ, through his epistle, is an encouragement to get off our arses! James was one of the three apostles with ministries directed to the Jews…along with Peter and John. James became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection from the dead. As if the make up for lost time, James is very direct in his epistle about the role of action in Christianity.
False teachers and untrained teachers take James’ message of action and direct it toward salvation. Looking at the Word of God from man’s perspective, false teachers claim that salvation is by works. They cite James, Chapter 2, Verse 14 to back up their claim that salvation requires works.
JAMES 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith (and many do)…but this person has no works? Can that faith save him?
Again…false teachers and untrained teachers take James’ message of action and direct it toward salvation. Yet they miss the key word in James, Chapter 2, Verse 14…the word “brethren.” James is talking to Jewish believers in Christ. The word “save” in this verse is better translated “deliver.”
JAMES 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith (and many do)…but this person has no works? Can that faith deliver him?
What James is saying to believers in Christ is that works directed to others evidences genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our vertical relationship with the Lord is manifested (made clearly visible) by our horizontal relationship with the world and those in it. For those of us from a Systematic Theology background, that should clear up any confusion about what God expects of us…He expects us to have faith in Him…our vertical relationship with Him…and to reflect that faith by doing divine works…our horizontal relationship with others. What works? Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 10…
EPHESIANS 2:10 For we believers in Christ are God the Father’s workmanship…created (by the Creator…God the Son…to be) in union with Christ Jesus for the purpose of doing good works…which works God the Father prepared in advance for us to do (in eternity past)…so that we believers in Christ would walk in them (that we would follow the path God the Father laid out for us).
So for those of us who think it is enough in God’s eyes that we simply sit at home and listen to the Barah Ministries lessons on the APP, yet never meet with other believers to share our spiritual gift, nor turn our spiritual gift into a ministry…James clears it up. James, Chapter 2, Verse 17…
JAMES 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead faith…being by itself (instead of being manifested…made clearly visible…by works).
Faith that is not backed by action is dead faith. In James, Chapter 2, Verse 20, the apostle summarizes his thoughts…
JAMES 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
God never intended for us to simply believe in Him…even thought that is a GREAT first step…God also wants His believers to reflect His own goodness by the works they do. Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 13…
PHILIPPIANS 2:13 …for it is God the Father who is at work in you believers in Christ…both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Faith shows up in our daily living…Philippians, Chapter 1, Verse 27…
PHILIPPIANS 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (believers in Christ), so that whether I (Paul) come to see you or whether I remain absent…I will hear this about you…that you are standing firm…in one spirit…with one mind…striving together for the faith of the gospel…
Welcome to a place where you can learn to manifest your faith…to make it clearly visible…by the actions you choose…by the ministries you choose… actions designed to change this lost and dying world one person at a time.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Make it a Habit to Pray For Your Enemies
What is an enemy?
ENEMY A person who either is actively or passively opposed to or hostile toward someone or something…a person who weakens or harms another…a person who hates you…a person who is out to destroy you…someone who wants to stop you from doing something…
Perhaps a better question is, “Who are your enemies?” You have enemies whether you are willing to acknowledge it or not…quite often we are not willing to admit that we have enemies…especially we are not wary of our three most potent enemies…Satan…and The World…and The Flesh. In First Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verse 17, the Lord commands that His believers…
FIRST THESSALONIANS 5:17 …pray without ceasing (in other words, that we make it a habit to pray)…
God makes the command even harder for us in Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 43 and 44…
MATTHEW 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”
MATTHEW 5:44 “But I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”
That’s easier said than done! In today’s lesson we’ll investigate ways to make praying for our enemies a regular part of our prayer routine.
What voice directs your path in this life? We’re all listening to a voice. There is no better voice to listen to than the voice of God the Holy Spirit… our Mentor…our Teacher…and the Guide of our path…the God who is in charge of our sanctification? John, Chapter 16, Verse 13…
JOHN 16:13 But when He, God the Holy Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you believers in Christ into all the truth…for He will not speak on His own initiative…but whatever the Spirit hears from God the Father, He will speak…and the Spirit will disclose to you what is to come (the truths about the future and the truth about the Lord).
Here’s Casting Crowns to sing their award winning hit…and it reminds us of the voice we are encouraged to listen to…THE VOICE OF TRUTH.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
VOICE OF TRUTH Casting Crowns
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, thank you for letting us know when we are being petty…the times when we let grade school actions creep into adulthood…thank you for illuminating it when we have a small-minded viewpoint…when we make assumptions and treat these assumptions, especially about others, as if they are reality…than you for letting us know the times when we make others our pseudo-enemies, while ignoring our real enemies…
Father. help us to be sober and on the alert…help us to treat our real enemies as we treat ourselves…simultaneously, help us to not be deceived into thinking that just because we are gracious to our enemies that they will be gracious is return…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Make it a Habit to Pray For Your Enemies
We continue our study of the final passage of Romans, Chapter 12…which extends from Verses 9 to 21…let’s listen to the entire passage, and then we’ll study today’s verse. When God tells us the DO’s and DON’Ts of this life, He is telling us how to live the amazing resurrection life He planned for us in eternity past…
ROMANS 12:9 Let your unconditional love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil…cling to what is good.
ROMANS 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love…give preference to one another in honor…
ROMANS 12:11 …not lagging behind in diligence…instead fervent in spirit…serving the Lord…
ROMANS 12:12 …rejoicing in hope…persevering in tribulation…devoted to prayer…
ROMANS 12:13 …contributing to the needs of the saints…practicing hospitality.
ROMANS 12:14 Bless those who persecute you…bless and do not curse.
ROMANS 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice…and weep with those who weep.
ROMANS 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another…do not be haughty in mind…but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
ROMANS 12:17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
ROMANS 12:18 If possible…so far as it depends on you…be at peace with all men.
ROMANS 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
ROMANS 12:20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him…and if he is thirsty, give him a drink…for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
ROMANS 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Let’s continue our look at God’s DO and DON’T commands in this final passage of Romans, Chapter 12…we left off at Verse 14. What is God telling is to do when He says…
ROMANS 12:14 Bless those who persecute you…bless and do not curse.
It’s really easy to know the Lord’s mind, when you really think of it, because the Lord always does exactly the opposite of what we would do. The Greek word “bless” means “to confer benefit on.” IS that what you are thinking about when you realize you have an enemy? Are you thinking of conferring benefit on your enemy? Our Lord blesses His enemies. Remember that moment as He hung form a Cross…being taunted by unbelievers? Luke, Chapter 23, Verses 33 to 35…
LUKE 23:33 When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Jesus and the two criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
LUKE 23:34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them…for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
Jesus was praying for His enemies…those who thought they were destroying Him…those who wanted to destroy Him. Is that your reaction to your enemies?
LUKE 23:35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Jesus, saying, “He saved others…let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God (the Messiah), His Chosen One.”
Our God wants us to do as He does…to pray for our enemies. What do you pray for in the matter of your enemies? Let’s take a look at prayer. What is prayer?
PRAYER
In prayer we talk to God to ask him to give us help with things we struggle with…we ask for guidance in matters where our human strength is not enough. When it comes to our enemies, our human strength is almost always not enough.
Prayer has a structure…
1. All prayer is directed to GOD THE FATHER
2. Prayer contains THANKSGIVING…the expression of gratitude to God for the blessings and for the trials of this life.
3. Prayer involves INTERCESSION…bringing God’s omnipotence to bear on the situations of others…bringing divine power into human circumstances, especially in situations where human power can’t get things done
4. In prayer there are PETITIONS…bringing God’s omnipotence to bear on situations in your life.
5. Prayer is directed by the enabling power of GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
6. Prayer is made IN CHRIST’S NAME
7. Prayer is concluded with a statement…AMEN…Hebrew for I BELIEVE…it is the acknowledgement that you believe God is able and wiling to do what you have asked.
John, Chapter 16, Verse 23…
JOHN 16:23 Truly, truly, I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
I’ll never forget where I was the day it dawned on me that through prayer I could ask God to change the weather in Iraq so that our Air Force pilots could see clearly enough to bomb their targets. Prayer is powerful! Yet if you reflect on the structure of prayer I just shared with you, do you notice anything in our prayer structure concerning our enemies? Certainly we can intercede for them. But do we?
When we get back from the break we’ll hear what a prayer for our enemies might sound like so that we can include our enemies in our prayer life.
BREAK Five Minutes
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Make it a Habit to Pray For Your Enemies
Many believers in Christ think giving is financial. Really, giving is a reflection of the depth of your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. First Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verse 7…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:7b What do you have that you did not receive (from God)?
Matthew, Chapter 10, Verse 8…
MATTHEW 10:8b Freely you received…freely give.
John, Chapter 3, Verse 16…
JOHN 3:16a “God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He GAVE…”
And we know that what the Father gave is His Son. Let your giving, not only today, but also always, be a reflection of your love for your Creator, the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with this week’s offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
EPHESIANS 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Make it a Habit to Pray For Your Enemies
Welcome back!
As believers in Christ, it’s easy to forget that we are spiritual royalty…we are heirs…we are the children of a King…we are saved…we will live forever…we are loved unconditionally by the Sovereign God of the Universe…the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…we are a new spiritual species.
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, and all believers in Christ are, there is a new creation…the old man things have died…behold, new things have come.
Let’s hear Lincoln Brewster tell us about how we, as believers in Christ have been MADE NEW.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
MADE NEW Lincoln Brewster
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Make it a Habit to Pray For Your Enemies
In Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 46 to 48…as He is so prone to do, the Lord gives the Pharisees, his enemies, a dose of reality…
MATTHEW 5:46 “For if you love unconditionally those who love you unconditionally, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
Since God’s unconditional love extends to everyone, so should our unconditional love, as believers in Christ, extend to everyone.
MATTHEW 5:47 “If you (Pharisees) greet only your brothers…and of course you do…what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles (unbelievers) do the same?”
MATTHEW 5:48 “Therefore you believers in Christ are to be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Believers in Christ are not to act the same way pagan unbelievers do. We are to make it habit to pray for our enemies. What can we pray for in the matter of our enemies? A prayer for our enemies might sound like this…
Father, I am praying for my enemies…for the co-worker who is mistreating me...for my wife who belittles me…for my child who disrespects and dishonors me…for the friend who betrays me…for our national enemies who want to kill me…I am also praying for those who protect me in our magnificent military — Father put my enemies in touch with the gospel message of salvation so they may come under the saving, purifying sway of your Sovereign rule, and so they become the center of your “so great” care... help my enemies want to love You and to want to do your will with all their might and without reservation…with the purest motives…and with great joy. Father, give my enemies abundant physical resources…the food and clothing and shelter and education and healthcare and transportation that they need to fulfill your calling on their lives. Remind my enemies, Father, that their sins are forgiven in the past and they stand forgiven forever…as you influence them to repentance, make them forgiving people as well… people who pray for their own enemies. Protect my enemies from overpowering temptations and from the destructive power of Satan, The World System, and The Flesh. I ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name…AMEN!
BOOM!
We are to pray not only for the physical needs of our enemies but for their eternal needs as well.
Here is the truth…there is nothing inside of us that wants anything to do with any of this. You see we may love someone unconditionally…we may forgive them for anything they have done to us…we may offer grace toward their mistakes and the way they have treated us…we may offer them the grace to make mistakes with us again…but truly we may not even want to talk to them…especially when the wounds they have inflicted are too fresh. Yet there in nothing, absolutely nothing, that keeps us from talking to God about them…there is nothing that keeps us from praying for them…and if we are to call ourselves Christians…we must do what is hard…and what is hard is praying for our enemies…perhaps the hardest thing in biblical Christianity.
Why can we take comfort in praying for our enemies? David tells us in Psalm 23…
PSALM 23:1 The Lord is the One who keeps on shepherding me…as a result, I cannot lack anything.
The Lord is our leader.
PSALM 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures…He leads me beside quiet waters.
The Lord gives us spiritual nourishment.
PSALM 23:3 He restores my soul…He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
The Lord recharges us…spiritual restoration. PSALM 23:4 Even though I walk through my very own death shadowed valley…I cannot fear evil…for You with me! Your rod and Your staff…they comfort me.
The Lord gives us guidance…even in the face of physical death.
PSALM 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…
The Lord protects us form our enemies…in fact providing us with a banquet set right in their faces. Let’s start making it a habit to pray for our enemies. Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 14…
ROMANS 12:14 Bless those who persecute you…bless and do not curse.
Do not curse means don’t ask for the imprecatory prayer for your enemies…don’t call for their teeth to be broken out! Instead, ask God to bless them. Psalm 37, Verses 1 to 6…
PSALM 37:1 Do not fret because of evildoers…be not envious toward wrongdoers.
PSALM 37:2 For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.
PSALM 37:3 Trust in the Lord and do good…dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
PSALM 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord…and He will give you the desires of your heart.
PSALM 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord…trust also in Him…and He will do it.
PSALM 37:6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday. We can count on the Lord to handle our enemies…pray for them!
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
The closing moments of our study are for anyone who does not have a personal relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU.
What is going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life? Is there an “afterlife?” And if there is, how can you get to heaven?
Many people believe that religious rituals are their ticket into heaven. They embrace religious beliefs that tell them how to live a spiritual life. The religion claims there is a God, or there are many gods…but the religion does not tell you how to have a personal relationship with Him. And, despite all of your religious rituals, your religion does not guarantee that following those rituals will get you into heaven.
In John, Chapter 4, Verses 13 and 14, the Lord Jesus Christ is talking to a woman at a well…a Samaritan woman whom the Jews wanted nothing to do with…after a brief conversation, the Lord says to her…
JOHN 4:13 “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again…”
JOHN 4:14 “…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him (the water of the Word…the gospel message)…shall never thirst…but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life (the resurrection life).”
It is the Lord’s will for you to come to heaven to live with Him when you close your eyes in this life. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…
SECOND PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of, but instead He is patient toward you unbelievers, not wishing for any of you to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all of you to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).
First Timothy, Chapter 2, Verses 3 and 4…
FIRST TIMOTHY 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of the God who is our Savior (the Lord Jesus Christ)…
FIRST TIMOTHY 2:4 …who desires all men to be saved and for all men to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The truth of how to get to heaven is this simple…it’s a nine-word conversation…Luke, Chapter 23, Verses 42 and 43…
LUKE 23:42 And a thief being crucified next to Jesus was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
LUKE 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
Or if you prefer…it’s a five word conversation with God the Father… “Father…I believe in Christ.” Simply believe…and that is the moment of eternal life for you. Now once the Lord saves you, no matter how hard you try, you cannot lose your salvation…John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…
JOHN 10:28 “…and I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ, and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
On the other hand, if you reject the relationship offer of this God who does not want you to perish, He will honor your rejection…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 49 and 50…
MATTHEW 13:49 So it will be at the end of the age…the angels will come forth and take out the wicked (unbelievers) from among the righteous (believers in Christ)...
MATTHEW 13:50 …and will throw them into the furnace of fire (The Lake of Fire)…in that (literal) place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The salvation our God provides free f charge should make you want to shout! Here’s June Murphy singingSHOUT TO THE LORD.
CLOSING SONG SHOUT TO THE LORD June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening! www.barahministries.com
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